"I just wanted to thank you for writing such a wonderful program. I've found it immensely useful so far. I especially like how easy it is to copy and paste text from the internet directly into the reader. I also like the audio and the ability to convert between traditional and simplified. Keep up the good work! Great program!"—Scott Anderson

"The very best thing about the program is the instant translation feature. It is fabulous being able to zap through a text and look up all the words you don't know instantly. It's the equivalent of an earthbound snail learning to fly."—Gesa Walker, Edinburgh

"I am thrilled with the program. It is a new and powerful tool in my study of Chinese."—Jos Spapens

Chinese Flashcards

Memorizing Chinese Characters and Radicals

Flashcards are a tried and true method for mastering new vocabulary in
any foreign language. They are especially important for students of Chinese,
given the amount of visual memorization required to master even a basic
set of characters. Creating and maintaining a good set of paper flashcards,
however, requires a lot of time and effort, especially in fast-paced courses
where students are asked to learn dozens of new characters each week.

The Chinese Flashcards tool provides an efficient and convenient way
for you to improve your knowledge of the top 800 most commonly used characters
and all 189 of the standard Xinhua radicals. A simple version of the tool
is provided on this website as a free Java
applet that you can use as often as you like. A more
powerful version, which also allows you to drill yourself on unfamiliar
words and characters from any Chinese text, is included with the Clavis
Sinica program.

Using the Chinese Flashcards Applet

When you use the web-based flashcards, you'll first be asked which of
three card sets you wish to use, the range of cards within that set you
want to work on, and whether you prefer simplified or traditional characters.
You'll then be presented with a series of characters or radicals, selected
at random from your deck, and asked to select the correct pinyin and English
definition for each one from two multiple-choice lists. If you select
the correct answers, the card is removed from the deck. If either the
pinyin or definition you choose is incorrect, you'll be shown the correct
answer and the card will be reinserted in the deck. Once you've identified
all the items in your deck correctly, the program will calculate and display
your overall score, which you can use to keep track of your progress in
mastering each group of characters or radicals.

Keeping Track of Your Progress

The Chinese Flashcards program is designed to be used together with the
Chinese Character Test, which enables
you to determine how many characters you know overall at any given time.
The "Class I" and "Class II" characters in the flashcards correspond to
the "Beginner" and "Low intermediate" skill levels, respectively, in the
Chinese Character Test. This means that you can drill yourself on the
characters in either of these groups using the flashcards in order to
improve your score on the test and systematically improve your recognition
of the most commonly used 800 characters.

The Chinese Flashcards and Chinese Character Test are based on the Clavis
Sinica dictionary. You can use the Clavis Sinica software to study
the structure and usage of any of the characters or radicals you encounter
here. For example, you can display a list of all of the characters that
use a particular radical, or a list of all
the multi-character words or phrases that
use a particular character. In addition, Clavis Sinica provides a Chinese
text reader which allows you to display any digitized Chinese text
and to bring up the pinyin and meaning of any unfamiliar word or character
it contains with a single click of the mouse.

Please send comments or questions about the Chinese Flashcards to zika@clavisinica.com.
For further information about the Clavis Sinica software, please see Product
Information or send email to info@clavisinica.com.